The Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers game today doesn’t have a whole lot on the line – at least from a playoff standpoint. There’s plenty of hate and a little bit of history to go around, though.

From the “hate” files, Joe Vitale’s status as a villain in Philly grows. Watch him “answer the bell” for his hits on Danny Briere and Nicklas Grosmann in this fight against Harry Zolnierczyk:

(Something tells me he might have to answer the bell again, but we shall see.)

As far as history goes, a Penguins player did something big, yet it wasn’t one you might expect. Pascal Dupuis collected a point in his NHL season-high 17th consecutive game. Liam McHugh points out that Dupuis became the third Pittsburgh player (Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux) to score 17 in a row in the last 20 years.

Oh, and just moments ago, Evgeni Malkin scored his 50th goal of the season (a first for the Russian star).

So far, the Vancouver Canucks are frustrating the Colorado Avalanche as Cory Schneider maintains a 1-0 lead despite a 27-13 shot disparity. Obviously, this game has significant Western Conference implications, but it might ultimately be remembered most for Canucks scorer David Booth serving up some knuckle sandwiches to Mark Olver:

(Stupid note: if you jumble up the letters in his last name, Olver spells “lover.” One might point out that’s further proof why he’s not a “fighter,” so to speak.)

After taking some time to get used to Vancouver and get over some injuries, Booth has found a solid niche with 15 goals and 28 points in 50 games (and change) as a Canucks forward. That being said, he carried a five-game scoreless streak into Wednesday, so perhaps this fight will do more than make him a minor Internet celebrity tonight.

The Boston Bruins absolutely dominated the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, beating them 8-0. If you want a symbolic video clip that isn’t as obvious as a bunch of Bruins goals befuddling Toronto goalies, try this clip of Milan Lucic pummeling Mike Komisarek on for size:

This is far from the first time the two tough players have tussled, as they’ve also dropped the gloves on at least two other notable occasions (which you can view in video form by clicking on the respective links): Nov. 13, 2008 and April 22, 2009.

Komisarek deserves credit for being courageous enough to keep fighting Lucic … but perhaps he shouldn’t. He’s at least 0-3 against him, so to speak, so maybe it’s time to just sneer at him but skate away. Just saying.

Eric Boulton felt really ripped off when his comically bloody face cut a recent fight short, but maybe Anaheim Ducks enforcer George Parros was left wanting too. Parros earned his paycheck on Sunday, however, as he did a ton of spinning and punching with his old buddy Krys Barch.

It makes perfect sense that the two have exchanged pleasantries quite often, too. Barch was a member of the Dallas Stars before joining the Florida Panthers in a trade this season, so the two often got the blood flowing in division rivalry games. In fact, here’s a fun “retro” photo of them hurting each other from Matt Sayles of The Associated Press.

Aww, memories.

So far 56.4 percent of Hockey Fights’ audience called that battle a draw and 33 .3 percent tabbed Barch as the winner. Do you agree or did Parros win by a ‘stache?

“I wasn’t hurt or anything but they said they had to get in there,” Boulton said. “I wanted to keep going. I wasn’t hurt. I didn’t feel the blood until they started coming in and then I felt it trickle down my face.

“Linesmen are doing their job trying to protect the players. It was the heat of the moment and I was a little ticked off. I didn’t get a chance to get back at him. They’re just doing their job.”

And Boulton was trying to do his, which often means absorbing punches – and occasionally giving us a laugh.